Samsung loses bid to block iPhone 4S sales in France

A French court on Thursday decided against issuing an injunction that would have barred Apple from selling the iPhone 4S in France, Bloomberg reports. The decision was part of a patent infringement complaint recently filed against Apple by Samsung, but Judge Marie-Christine Courboulay denied Samsung’s request. “The disproportionate character of the ban sought by Samsung against Apple is clear,” Judge Courboulay said in today’s decision, ruling that Samsung must pay Apple €100,000 for legal fees. The claim will move forward to be tried as a standard patent suit. Samsung filed a suit in October seeking to block sales of Apple’s iPhones in France and Italy, alleging that Apple’s smartphones infringe on Samsung’s protected intellectual property. “Apple has continued to flagrantly violate our intellectual property rights and free ride on our technology,” Samsung said in a statement at that time. “We believe it is now necessary to take legal action to protect our innovation.” Apple and Samsung have now filed a combined total of at least 30 lawsuits against each other across 10 different countries.